This rose is highly vulnerable to black-spot in my garden... To the point of defoliation even though it is planted in a good location with full sunshine. The rose immediately neighbouring it is doing splendidly. The blooms are quite small... Too small for the plant and the form and colour also leave something to be desired. The blooms last long enough yes, but I'd rather more impressive looking blooms whether or not they lasted as long. Even if this rose were black-spot free and kept its foliage, I would still be shovel-pruning and replacing it come tomorrow... In my opinion there are MANY superior reds out there. For me this one's a dog.
Just in case in some years people wonder where the name came from, and also as it's one of my favourite roses: "During its nursery trials ‘Carris’ exceeded all expectations in its capability to re-bloom, which it does very rapidly, producing wave upon wave of brilliant scarlet. Re-bloom cycle is among the most important characteristics in roses, it holds the key to maximising effectiveness and performance in the garden . ‘Carris’ is bold and bright, suitable to plant in any situation, and fantastic for cutting stems for indoors. Colour quality is rich and pure, the scarlet of the fresh blooms eventually softening to cherry red. Growth habit is strong, broad and freely branching. Foliage is glossy and leathery, forming a dense foil of mid-green as a background for the blooms. Resistance to disease is good. The right to choose the name for this new rose was auctioned in a great flurry of excitement by Terry Wogan in November 2006, as part of BBC Children in Need on radio 2. The generosity of Mr and Mrs Worrall secured a whole package of gardening delights, part of which is the splendid ‘Carris’."
Have just read something that is perhaps obvious for some people, but that I hadn't realised: the roses that live the longest as cut flowers are those that have little scent, which would explain why Carris is so wonderful in a vase. Apparently a strong scent weakens the bloom ... Food for thought, at any rate!
It's your last sentence that I question. There are several reasons why many roses don't have a strong scent, one of which is that the gene for scent is recessive, but that is not the reason roses which have a longer vase life have little scent. Most roses that have the longer vase life and/or last longer on the bush have thicker petals. This makes it difficult for the chemical process within the petal to bring the oils which carry scent to the surface of the petal. You can check this out with your own roses. I have found roses which seem to shatter easily and which do have the shorter vase life, do, indeed have thinner petals and are more often more fragrant to my nose.
Yes, I see what you mean. Thanks, Lyn, very interesting. The thing is, I love having a vase (or two or three!) of roses in the house, and I like them to last. Up until now I have always wanted flowers that last AND have a strong scent. I have just ordered a Saint Patrick rose because of people's recommendations - in fact with slight regrets on account of the fact that it apparently has little scent. Same with Anna, which I have asked a producer to hunt out for me. But when I see Carris in a vase, I just say to myself that perhaps scent isn't THAT important ...
Please don't laugh too loudly. I have actually reached the point where I want to see a healthy plant that blooms well and trully forget to sniff to see if there is any scent. It's always a pleasant surprise and gift when I do check for scent and find that the rose smells wonderful. And, yes, these are usually roses I do not cut for the house because they don't last long in a vase.
Yes, I see what you mean! I'm getting a bit like that myself! Today I cut some Princesse de Monaco - beautiful! AND they smell nice .... but it is the look that counts first.
Hi, Judith. I read that the reasoning of breeders of florists roses is that scent in roses might be associated with the production of ethylene gas during storage and transport. Whether it is true is a different issue! It is true, however, that florists roses are deliberately bred without scent based on the belief they last and ship better that way.
Yes, Cass, that sounds reasonable. Florists' roses certainly have no scent .... well, here, at any rate. The flowers don't even open out properly. Carris, actually, to come back to the rose I stuck this discussion on to (!), evolves very, very slowly. It does open, but then stagnates as it were. After a long time in that state the petals all suddenly drop off - but that's after about ten days or more - so I can't complain! A bit like Savoy Hotel, though of a different shape. The flowers don't droop, you don't really know they're 'on their last legs' - it's all very sudden. Strange how different roses react differently ...
